This year the Eva Neer Memorial Lecture will be delivered by David E. Fisher, M.D., Ph.D. Dr. Fisher is the Edward Wigglesworth Professor
of Dermatology at Massachusetts General Hospital/Harvard Medical
School, his Clinical Specialty is Dermatology.

Melanocytes produce pigments that may participate actively in UV protection. Their synthesis arises from constitutive and adaptive pigmentation pathways, both of which are regulated by the action of MITF, a signal-responsive transcriptional inducer of the melanogenesis machinery. The pathway through which UV induces MITF has been elucidated, and sheds light on how red pheomelanin and dark eumelanin synthesis are controlled. Animal models of the redhair phenotype have identified carcinogenic roles for pheomelanin, which in addition to its chemical toxicity is challenging to clinically visualize in the epidermis. The use of topically administered small molecules may permit rescue of eumelanin synthesis, thereby potentially providing a novel prevention strategy. A molecular byproduct of the UV-pigment response is beta-endorphin, which has been found to contribute behavioral effects to UV exposure. UV also triggers formation of signature mutations, some of which produce neoantigens that may be recognized and targeted in melanoma cells. The roles of neoantigens in melanoma immunotherapy will be discussed, as well as novel approaches to overcome neoantigen deficiency in melanoma (and other cancer) therapy.

Cape Cod, MA

Annual Retreat

The annual fall retreat, organized by the program students and staff, is the most important collegial activity of the academic year. First held in 1983, this retreat takes place at a local New England conference center. This year it will be held on Cape Cod. All MD-PhD students are included, whether or not they have MSTP funding. HMS sponsors the retreat, with financial assistance from industry donors. Faculty members active on program committees are also invited. Typically, more than half of the students and 25-30 faculty members attend, with most faculty presenting posters. The retreat is highly interactive. The program varies from year to year, but usually includes oral presentations and posters by students about their thesis research, and discussions about postgraduate training and career choices. In addition, a prominent physician-scientist is invited to give a keynote lecture, named for Eva Neer, M.D., a strong faculty supporter of the program who died of breast cancer in 2000.